Control Signal Repeater System

ABSTRACT

An example playback device includes a housing having a front side, a back side, a first end, and a second end. The playback device also includes an IR receiver positioned on the front side of the housing, a first IR emitter positioned on the back side of the housing and oriented such that a first IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter is directed toward the second end of the housing, and a second IR emitter positioned on the back side of the housing and oriented such that a second IR signal emitted from the second IR emitter a) is directed toward the first end of the housing and b) crosses the first IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter. The first and second IR emitters are communicatively coupled to the IR receiver within the housing and configured to retransmit an IR control signal received by the IR receiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 toU.S. Application No. 16/422,312 filed May 24, 2019, entitled “ControlSignal Repeater System,” the contents of which are incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure is related to consumer goods and, moreparticularly, to systems, products, features, services, methods, andother elements directed to entertainment systems or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Current entertainment systems, such as home theater systems, ofteninclude multiple components that can operate in various combinations.For instance, a television or similar display may play back videocontent while one or more externally connected speakers plays back audiocontent, possibly via multiple audio channels. A system's audio andvideo sources may be numerous, and may be associated with furthercomponents such as a cable box, a game console, and the like. Remotecontrol of the components in such systems frequently utilizes a line ofsight based control signal, such as an infrared (IR) signal emitted froma remote device. In some systems, a given component may be obscured dueto the arrangement of the system or the layout of associated furniture,for example. In such cases, a repeater system may be used to relay acontrol signal to an otherwise obscured component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologymay be better understood with regard to the following description,appended claims, and accompanying drawings, as listed below. A personskilled in the relevant art will understand that the features shown inthe drawings are for purposes of illustrations, and variations,including different and/or additional features and arrangements thereof,are possible.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a playback device in an entertainment systemconfigured in accordance with aspects of the disclosed technology.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the playback device of FIG. 1, according to anexample implementation.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the playback device of FIG. 1, according to anexample implementation.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an IR emitter, according to an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 5 is another schematic diagram of an IR emitter, according to anexample embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the playback device of FIG. 1, according to anexample implementation.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of an example playback device, according to anexample implementation.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an indentation of the playback device ofFIG. 7, according to an example implementation.

FIG. 9 is a top view of the playback device of FIG. 7, according to anexample implementation.

FIG. 10 is a message flow diagram of communications in an entertainmentsystem, according to an example implementation.

FIG. 11 is another message flow diagram of communications in anentertainment system, according to an example implementation.

The drawings are for the purpose of illustrating example embodiments,but those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that thetechnology disclosed herein is not limited to the arrangements and/orinstrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Embodiments described herein relate to a control signal repeater systemimplemented as part of a playback device. The control signal repeatersystem may be more compact and efficient than some current systems. Forexample, in some entertainment systems, a multi-channel soundbar may bepositioned in front of a connected display, both of which may sit atopan entertainment stand or similar piece of furniture. Such displaysgenerally include an infrared (IR) receiver positioned on the front ofthe display to receive control signals from an associated remotecontrol. Frequently, the IR receiver is located along the bottom bezel,near the stand/feet of the display. However, this location may beobscured by the example soundbar discussed above, particularly if thesoundbar is comparable in width to the display.

For this reason, in some current soundbars, an IR repeater system isincorporated into the soundbar to relay control signals intended for thedisplay. For instance, the soundbar may include an IR receiver on itsfront side and a number of IR emitters on its back side, such thatcontrol signals intended for the display can be received and thenrelayed to the display. However, because the location of a display's IRreceiver varies based on the model and size of the display, the IRrepeater systems of current soundbars must be designed with a great dealof redundancy. For example, some current soundbars include a line arrayof ten or more IR emitters along the length of their back side, toaccount for the numerous possible locations of a display's IR receiver.

However, this arrangement requires hardware space within the housing ofthe soundbar, both internally for the wiring associated with thenumerous IR emitters, as well as externally, as a lengthy window orsimilar opening (or numerous small ones) must be formed in the back sideof the housing for the array of emitters. These hardware requirementsmay constrain the physical design of the soundbar, which might otherwiseutilize the same space for other hardware, such as some associated withthe soundbar's audio drivers. Further, the array of emitters may have apower requirement that is proportional to the number of emitters in thearray.

For these and other reasons, it may be desirable to implement a controlsignal repeater system within a playback device, such as a soundbar,that is more compact in its design, using fewer IR emitters in anarrangement that may provide coverage that is functionally comparable tothe line array arrangement described above. For example, two IR emittersmay be positioned on the back side of a playback device, directed in across-firing arrangement such they are each pointed substantially towardthe opposite end of the playback device.

In some embodiments, the two IR emitters may be positioned in arelatively central location on the back side of the playback device.This location may include an indentation or similar delineation in thehousing of the playback device where other ports for the device are alsopositioned, such as audio/video, communication (e.g., ethernet), and/orpower connections. By consolidating the IR emitters in this locationwith other input/output hardware, this may allow for the playbackdevice's internal and external design to be more dedicated to audioreproduction and/or aesthetic design considerations. Further, the fewerIR emitters will require less power for each received and retransmittedcontrol signal that the playback device handles.

Accordingly, in some embodiments a playback device is provided. Theplayback device includes a housing including a front side, a back side,a first end, and a second end. The playback device also includes an IRreceiver positioned on the front side of the housing, a first IR emitterpositioned on the back side of the housing and oriented such that afirst IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter is directed toward thesecond end of the housing, and a second IR emitter positioned on theback side of the housing and oriented such that a second IR signalemitted from the second IR emitter a) is directed toward the first endof the housing and b) crosses the first IR signal emitted from the firstIR emitter. The first IR emitter and the second IR emitter are eachcommunicatively coupled to the IR receiver within the housing such thatthe first IR emitter and the second IR emitter are configured toretransmit an IR control signal received by the IR receiver.

In another aspect, a method of repeating an IR signal is provided. Themethod includes receiving, via an IR receiver positioned on a front sideof a housing of a playback device, an IR control signal, where thehousing further comprises a back side, a first end, and a second end.The method also includes retransmitting the IR control signal via afirst IR emitter communicatively coupled to the IR receiver within thehousing, where the first IR emitter is positioned on the back side ofthe housing and oriented such that a first IR signal emitted from thefirst IR emitter is directed toward the second end of the housing. Themethod also includes retransmitting the IR control signal via a secondIR emitter communicatively coupled to the IR receiver within thehousing, where the second IR emitter is positioned on the back side ofthe housing and oriented such that a second IR signal emitted from thesecond IR emitter a) is directed toward the first end of the housing andb) crosses the first IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter.

While some examples described herein may refer to functions performed bygiven actors such as “users,” “listeners,” and/or other entities, itshould be understood that this is for purposes of explanation only. Theclaims should not be interpreted to require action by any such exampleactor unless explicitly required by the language of the claimsthemselves.

In the Figures, identical reference numbers identify generally similar,and/or identical, elements. Many of the details, dimensions, angles andother features shown in the Figures are merely illustrative ofparticular embodiments of the disclosed technology, and are notnecessarily drawn to scale. Accordingly, other embodiments can haveother details, dimensions, angles and features without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the disclosure. In addition, those of ordinaryskill in the art will appreciate that further embodiments of the variousdisclosed technologies can be practiced without several of the detailsdescribed below.

II. Example Control Signal Repeater Systems and Operation

Referring now to the Figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of aplayback device 100 in an example entertainment system. Theentertainment system includes a display 120 and a control device 130 forcontrolling aspects of the entertainment system. For example, thecontrol device 130 may emit a control signal 131, such as an infrared(IR) control signal that requires line of sight to the receiving device.Although IR control signals are among the most commonly used controlsignals in current devices and are referred to throughout thisspecification, other types of control signals are also possible,including light-based control signals having a wavelength different froman IR signal, for instance.

The playback device 100 includes a housing 101 having a front side 102and a back side 103, which can be seen more clearly in the top view ofFIG. 2. The housing 101 also includes a first end 104 and a second end105 opposite the first end 104. In the examples shown in the Figures,the playback device 100 takes the form of a soundbar having a width thatis greater than that of the display 120. However, playback devices anddisplays of other shapes and sizes are also contemplated.

The playback device 100 also includes an IR receiver 106 positioned onthe front side 102 of the housing 101, located near the second end 105,although other locations are also possible. The IR receiver 106 may beimplemented using, for example, one or more photodiodes. In someexamples, the IR receiver 106 may be located within the front side 102of the housing 101, and a window or similar opening in the front side102 of the housing 101 may expose the IR receiver 106 to the controlsignal 131. For instance, the housing 101 may include a window formedfrom an IR-transparent material that allows the control signal 131 toreach the IR receiver 106. Other arrangements are also possible.

As shown in FIG. 1, the playback device 100 may be situated in theentertainment system such that it physically blocks the line of sight toan IR receiver of the display 120. For example, the IR receiver 126 ofthe display 120 may be located along the bottom edge of the display 120,which is obscured by the playback device 100 and is shown by dashedlines in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the playback device 100 and display 120 shown inFIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the IR receiver 126 of the display 120 can be seen.For ease of illustration in FIG. 2, the IR receiver 106 of the playbackdevice 100 and the IR receiver 126 of the display 120 are shown asprotruding from the playback device 100 and display 120, respectively.However, as discussed above, the IR receiver 106 may be positionedbehind a window formed in the front side 102 of the housing 101, or maybe otherwise substantially flush with the front side 102 of the housing101. The same is true for the IR receiver 126 of the display 120.

In some implementations, the IR receiver 106 may be located furtherwithin the playback device 100, within the housing 101, to reduce thedesign constraints on the housing 101. In such cases, the playbackdevice 100 may include a waveguide or similar structure to guide the IRcontrol signal transmitted from the control device through an existingopening in the housing 101 to the location of the IR receiver 106. Forexample, a waveguide may be positioned behind a perforated grillassociated with one or more of the audio drivers of the playback device100. In this way, the IR control signal 131 from the control device 130may pass through the openings in the grill and into the waveguide, wherethey may be guided to the IR receiver within the housing 101. Othersimilar arrangements are also possible.

FIG. 2 also illustrates a first IR emitter 107 and a second IR emitter109, each positioned on the back side 103 of the housing 101. Similar tothe IR receiver 106, the emitters are shown as protruding from the backside 103 of the housing 101 for ease of illustration in FIG. 2. However,they may alternatively be flush with the back side 103 of the housing101, or positioned behind an opening or window in the back side 103 thatis formed from IR-transparent material, as discussed above. In someimplementations, the first IR emitter 107 and the second IR emitter 109may be positioned within a recessed area on the back side 103 of thehousing 101, as further discussed below.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the playback device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,showing the back side 103 of the playback device 100. As shown in FIG.2, the first IR emitter 107 and second IR emitter 109 are both centrallylocated between the first end 104 and the second end 105 of the playbackdevice 100, although other locations are also possible. Further, thefirst IR emitter 107 and the second IR emitter 109 are eachcommunicatively coupled to the IR receiver 106 of the playback device100 within the housing 101 such that the first IR emitter 107 and thesecond IR emitter 109 are configured to retransmit an IR control signalreceived by the IR receiver 106.

Turning now to FIG. 4, a schematic diagram of the first IR emitter 107is shown. The first IR emitter 107 may be, for example, a light-emittingdiode (LED). Other types of emitters are also possible. As shown in FIG.4, the first IR emitter 107 may have a focused emitting direction 117,which may generally represent the direction that the first IR emitter107 is “pointing.” Further, a first IR signal 108 that is emitted by thefirst IR emitter 107 will generally encompass a first emitting angle 111centered about the focused emitting direction 117. The first emittingangle 111 may represent the angle at which the emitted light has onehalf of the intensity as light at zero degrees, i.e., light pointed inthe focused emitting direction 117 of the first IR emitter 107.

The first emitting angle 111 may be based on the design of the first IRemitter 107. For example, the first IR emitter 107 may be surrounded byshielding and/or reflective surfaces that redirect and focus the emittedlight in the focused emitting direction 117 to obtain a desired angle ofhalf intensity. For instance, the first IR emitter 107 may have a firstemitting angle 111 that is +/−25 degrees to either side of the focusedemitting direction 117, or 50 degrees in total. Smaller, more focusedemitting angles are also possible, as are greater angles that dispersethe light more widely.

In some implementations, and with reference to FIG. 4 the first IRemitter 107 may have a constant emitting angle 111 in both thehorizontal and vertical direction. Thus, the first IR signal 108 may beemitted from the first IR emitter 107 in an approximately conical shape.Alternatively, the emitting angle 111 might not be the same in thehorizontal and vertical directions. For example, the first IR emitter107 may have a wider emitting angle in the horizontal direction and anarrower emitting angle in the vertical direction. The wider angle inthe horizontal direction may provide increased flexibility forpositioning the playback device 100 in front of the display 120.Whereas, positional flexibility might not be as important in thevertical direction, and thus the narrower angle in the vertical planemay help to focus the distributed radiant intensity in the horizontalplane.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the second IR emitter 109, which may besubstantially the same as the first IR emitter 107. For example, thesecond IR emitter 109 may emit a second IR signal 110 that encompassesan emitting angle 112 centered around a focused emitting direction 119.Further, the emitting angle 112 of the second IR emitter 109 may differin the horizontal and vertical directions, as discussed above.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the playback device 100 showing exampleorientations of the first and second IR emitters. For instance, thefirst IR emitter 107 may be oriented such that the first IR signal 108emitted from the first IR emitter 107 is directed toward the second end105 of the housing 101. Similarly, the second IR emitter 109 may beoriented such that the second IR signal 110 emitted from the second IRemitter 109 is directed toward the first end 104 of the housing 101.Further, the second IR emitter 109 is oriented such that the second IRsignal 110 emitted from the second IR emitter 109 crosses the first IRsignal 108 emitted from the first IR emitter 107.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, due to the shallow angle at which the IRemitters are oriented with respect to the back side 103 of the housing101, approximately half of the first IR signal 108 and the second IRsignal 110 may be directed into the housing 101. Nonetheless, thisorientation provides the retransmitted IR control signal across arelatively wide area behind the playback device 100, using relativelyfew emitters. This may provide for increased flexibility in themechanical design of the playback device 100, as it requires feweropenings in the housing 101 than some current solutions.

In some implementations, the first IR emitter 107 and the second IRemitter 109 may each be orientated such that the focused emittingdirection of each emitter is substantially parallel to the back side 103of the housing 101. For example, and with reference to FIG. 6, thefocused emitting direction 117 of the first IR emitter 107 may have anangle of incline 127 that is five degrees or less from the back side 103of the housing 101. Similarly, the focused emitting direction 119 of thesecond IR emitter 109 may also have an angle of incline 129 that is fivedegrees or less from the back side 103 of the housing 101. The focusedemitting direction for both emitters with respect to the back side 103of the housing 101, as well as their emitting angles, may be selectedbased on design considerations such as an anticipated distance from aconnected display, the overall length of the playback device 100, theposition of the emitters along the length of the playback device 100,and/or the relative position of the two emitters with respect to eachother, among other factors.

For example, in some implementations, the playback device 100 may berelatively large such that a first distance 141 between the first end104 and the second end 105 of the housing 101, as shown in FIG. 6, isgreater than one meter. Additionally, a second distance 142 between thefirst IR emitter 107 and the second IR emitter 109 may be no greaterthan 15 centimeters, centered at the approximate midpoint on the backside 103 of the housing 101. Other dimensions are also possible.

In an alternative implementation, the two emitters may be positionedrelatively near to one another on the back side 103 of the housing 101as discussed above, however they might not be centered on the housing101. Rather, they may be offset such that they are positioned closer toeither the first end 104 or the second end 105. In this situation, andunlike the examples discussed above and shown in the Figures, the twoemitters may be oriented at different angles with respect to the backside 103 of the housing 101. For instance, the emitter directed towardthe more distant end of the playback device 100 may have a relativeshallow angle of incline with respect the back side 103 of the housing101, whereas the emitter directed toward the nearer end of the playbackdevice 100 may have a greater angle of incline with respect the backside 103 of the housing 101. Additionally or alternatively, the twoemitters may have different configurations in this case, with differentemitting angles, for instance. Other variations are also possible.

In some embodiments, the playback device 100 may receive and relay IRcontrol signals in additional or alternative ways. For example, the IRreceiver 106 may be a first IR receiver that receives a first IR controlsignal that is retransmitted, as discussed above. The playback device100 may also include a second IR receiver 116 positioned on the frontside 102 of the housing 101 to receive a second IR control signal.Further, the playback device 100 may include processing for convertingthe second IR control signal received by the second IR receiver 116 to anon-IR control message.

For instance, the playback device 100 may include processing forconverting an analog IR signal into a digital control message, such as aConsumer Electronics Control (CEC) control message. The non-IR controlmessage may then be transmitted to a computing device that is connectedto the playback device 100. In some examples, the connected computingdevice may be the display 120, or another component that is a part ofthe entertainment system such as a cable or satellite set-top box, DVR,DVD/Blu-ray, and/or game console. The control message may correspond toa command for browsing a menu on one of these components, for example.In this way, the playback device 100 may facilitate direct control ofthe display 120 and/or additional connected computing devices.

In some implementations, the playback device 100 may include processingfor differentiating between the different types of IR control signals itmight receive, and for determining how to handle them. For example, agiven IR control signal may include, as part of the signal, a devicecode identifying the device for which the IR control signal is intended.The device code may identify, for instance, a specific manufacturer, andpossibly model of the device, which may identify the type of device(e.g., a display, a DVR, etc.). The playback device 100 may have storedin memory a database of such device codes. In some examples, if theplayback device 100 determines, based on the database, that a receivedIR control signal includes a device code that identifies a display, theplayback device 100 may retransmit the IR control signal. Whereas, ifthe playback device 100 determines that the IR control signal includes adevice code that identifies a component other than a display such asthose identified above (which may be less likely to be positioneddirectly behind the playback device 100), the playback device 100 mayconvert the IR control signal into the non-IR control message, asdiscussed. Other solutions for selectively identifying and/or handlingincoming IR signals are also possible.

In some other cases, a control signal transmitted by the control device130 may represent both the first IR control signal and the second IRcontrol signal in the examples discussed above. For instance, theplayback device 100 may both retransmit the IR control signal via the IRemitters and convert the IR control signal to a non-IR control message.In some situations, this may result in the targeted device (e.g., thedisplay 120, a connected DVR, etc.) receiving both an IR control signaland a converted, non-IR control message, both representing the samecommand. In such cases, the targeted device may determine which signalto use. For instance, the display 120 may receive the retransmitted IRcontrol signal from the playback device 100 first and execute commandsaccordingly. The display 120 may then disregard the non-IR controlmessage received shortly thereafter, if it represents the same commandthat was just received. The display 120 or other targeted device mayhandle the incoming control signals in other ways as well. FIG. 7 showsa rear view of a playback device 700, according to another exampleimplementation. Similar to the playback device 100 discussed above, theplayback device 700 includes a housing 701 having a front side (notshown), a backside 703, a first end 704, and a second end 705. Further,back side 703 of the housing 701 includes an indentation 750. A first IRemitter 707 and a second IR emitter 709 may be positioned with in theindentation 750, which may be seen with reference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 shows a close-up, perspective view of the indentation 750 of theplayback device 700. In some examples, the indentation 750 may houseports for connecting external cables to the playback device 700. Forinstance, the indentation 750 may include ports for connecting one ormore HDMI cables, optical audio cables, ethernet cables, in addition toAC and/or DC power cables. Two nondescript ports 753 are shown by way ofexample in FIG. 8, although more or fewer ports 753 are possible.

In some examples, positioning the IR emitters in the indentation 750 mayallow for a more efficient mechanical design for the playback device700, as the internal hardware and wiring required for each of thesecomponents, as well as the openings in the housing 701, may all beconsolidated at a single location. For instance, the indentation 750 mayhouse all such ports 753 for external connections to the playback device700, such that the back side 703 of the playback device 700 is exclusiveof additional ports.

As shown in FIG. 8, the indentation 750 may include a first wall 751 andan opposing second wall 752, each arranged perpendicular to the backside 703 of the housing 701. The first IR emitter 707 may be positionedin the first wall 751 of the indentation 750, and the second IR emitter709 may be positioned in the second wall 752. This arrangement mayfacilitate the positioning of the IR emitters in the orientationgenerally discussed above.

For example, referring now to FIG. 9, the first IR emitter 707 ispositioned in the first wall 751 of the indentation 750, and is orientedsuch that a first IR signal 708 is directed toward the second end 705 ofthe housing 701. As shown in FIG. 9, the first IR emitter 707 has afocused emitting direction 717 that is arranged at a relatively smallangle of incline with respect to the back side 703 of the housing 101.Further, due to the first IR emitter 707 being recessed within theindentation 750, the center of the first IR signal 708, represented bythe focused emitting direction 717 shown in a dashed line, is pointed atthe second wall 752 of the indentation 750. Nonetheless, approximatelyhalf of the first IR signal 708 clears the indentation 750. In someother implementations, the first IR emitter 707 may be positionedelsewhere in the first wall 751 or within the indentation 750.

Similar to the examples discussed above, the second IR emitter 709 shownin FIG. 9 is arranged opposite the first IR emitter 707, within thesecond wall 752 of the indentation 750. In some implementations, theindentation 750 may be formed from an IR-transparent material, which mayfacilitate placing the IR emitters within or behind the respective wallswithin the indentation 750.

In some examples, the IR emitters may be positioned at locations withinthe indentation 750 that may reduce the likelihood that external cablesconnected to the at least one port 753 in the indentation 750 will blockthe emitted IR signals. For instance, the emitters may be positionedsuch that the first IR emitter 707, the second IR emitter 709, and theat least one port 753 are non-coplanar, in both a horizontal and avertical direction. As can be seen in FIG. 8, the emitters may bepositioned higher within the indentation 750 than the ports 753,allowing the emitted IR signals to pass above any connected cables.Further, and as can be seen in FIG. 9, the IR emitters are offset fromthe back wall of the indentation 750 that includes the ports 753.Positioning the IR emitters closer to the back side 703 of the housing701 in this way distances the IR emitters from the connecting ends ofthe external cables, which are generally bulkier than the cablesthemselves. Further, as a connected cable exits the indentation 750, itmay generally be expected to lie down toward the bottom of theindentation 750. This may provide greater separation from the IRemitters, and further reduce the likelihood of signal blockage by thecable.

In some implementations, the indentation 750 may be located at amidpoint between the first end 704 and the second end 705 of the housing701. Further, the indentation 750 may be relatively small in relation tothe overall length of the playback device 700. For example, a firstdistance between the first end 704 and the second end 705 of the housing701 may be greater than one meter, while a second distance between theopposing first and second walls of the indentation 750 may be no greaterthan 15 centimeters.

In some other implementations, the indentation 750, and the emitterspositioned therein, may be offset from the midpoint of the housing 701.In this situation, as discussed above, the emitters and their respectiveIR signals might not be symmetrically oriented with respect to the backside 703 of the housing 701. Rather, the emitters may be directed atdifferent angles, and/or may be configured with different emittingangles, among other possibilities.

FIG. 10 is a message flow diagram illustrating exchanges betweencomputing devices of an entertainment system. For example, the computingdevices may be any of the components shown in FIGS. 1-9 and discussedabove. The following example implementations will refer to the playbackdevice 100, the display 120, and the control device 130. The playbackdevice 100 may be connected to, and handling audio output for, thedisplay 120, among other components in the entertainment system.

At block 1002, the control device 130 receives a control input. Forexample, the control input may be a button press by a user on thecontrol device 130, and may represent a given command, such as a volumeup or volume down command. At block 1004, the control device 130transmits a corresponding IR control signal, such as the IR controlsignal 131 shown in FIG. 1. The IR control signal 131 is then receivedby the playback device 100. For example, the playback device 100 mayreceive the IR control signal 131 via the IR receiver 106 shown in theFigures and discussed above.

At block 1006, the playback device 100 retransmits the IR control signalvia the first IR emitter 107, which is communicatively coupled to the IRreceiver 106 within the housing 101. For example, the first IR emitter107 may retransmit the received IR control signal 131 as a first IRsignal 108. As noted above, the first IR emitter 107 is positioned onthe back side 101 of the housing 103 and oriented such that the first IRsignal 108 emitted from the first IR emitter 107 is directed toward thesecond end 105 of the housing 101.

At block 1008, the playback device 100 retransmits the IR control signalvia the second IR emitter 109, which is also communicatively coupled tothe IR receiver 106 within the housing 101. For example, the second IRemitter 109 may retransmit the received IR control signal 131 as asecond IR signal 110. As previously discussed, the second IR emitter 109is positioned on the back side 103 of the housing 101 and oriented suchthat the second IR signal 110 emitted from the second IR emitter 109 isdirected toward the first end 104 of the housing 101, and also crossesthe first IR signal 108 emitted from the first IR emitter 107. Thedisplay 120 may then receive one or both of the first IR signal 108 andthe second IR signal 110 via its own IR receiver 126.

Blocks 1006 and 1008 may occur substantially concurrently. As a result,if the display 120 receives both the first IR signal 108 and the secondIR signal 110 corresponding to a given IR control signal, it may receivethem substantially simultaneously, and perceive them as a single signalthat is the sum of the first IR signal 108 and the second IR signal 110.Thus, the IR receiver 126 of the display 120 will be unable todistinguish the signals and will process them as a single instruction.This may reduce the likelihood of the display 120 receiving andexecuting duplicate commands.

In some situations, the original IR control signal 131 might also bereceived by the display 120. For instance, the control device 130 may bepositioned at an angle to the display 120 so that the IR control signalis not blocked by the playback device 100. Or, the playback device 100may be sized such that the IR receiver 126 is sometimes, but not always,obscured from receiving the IR control signal 131, depending on thelocation of the control device 130. Thus, there may be situations inwhich the IR receiver 126 receives both the control signal 131 and oneor both of first IR signal 108 and the second IR signal 110.

To account for this possibility, the IR control signal 131 may bereceived, processed, and retransmitted by the playback device 100without significant (e.g., noticeable) delay, so that the resultingfirst IR signal 108 and the second IR signal 110 are substantiallyindistinguishable not only from each other, but also from the originalcontrol signal 131.

For example, the playback device 100 may receive the IR control signal131 in analog form and manipulate the signal linearly such that itremains in analog form when it is retransmitted as the first IR signal108 and the second IR signal 110. For instance, the playback device 100may include circuitry for amplifying the received signal, filteringextraneous IR light that might have been received by the IR receiver 126(e.g., using a band pass filter), and adding or removing DC offset fromthe signal. A linear current is provided corresponding to themanipulated signal to drive the LED emitters discussed above.

In the example discussed above, the playback device 100 does not convertthe analog signal into a digital form. As a result, the linearmanipulation of the analog signal can be performed relatively rapidly sothat there is no significant delay in the retransmitted signal. Thus,the display 120 may receive the IR control signal 131 and one or both ofthe first IR signal 108 and the second IR signal 110 substantiallysimultaneously. As above, the display 120 may perceive them thesesubstantially simultaneous signals as a single, summed signal andprocess them as a single instruction. This may further reduce thelikelihood of the display 120 receiving and executing duplicatecommands.

In some implementations, as shown at block 1010, the control device 130may transmit a second IR control signal that is received by the playbackdevice 100 via the second IR receiver 116, as discussed above. At block1012, the playback device 100 may convert the IR control signal receivedvia the second IR receiver 116 into a non-IR control message. Theplayback device 100 may then, at block 1014, transmit the non-IR controlmessage to a connected computing device, such as the display 120.

As noted above, the second IR control signal received by the playbackdevice 100 via the second IR receiver 116 may differ from the first IRcontrol signal transmitted by the control device at block 1004. However,in some examples, they may be the same IR control signal. For instance,the IR control signal transmitted at block 1004 may be received by boththe first IR receiver 106 and the second IR receiver 116, and thus mayalso be the IR control signal transmitted at block 1010.

At block 1016, the display 120 may execute one or more commands based onthe retransmitted IR control signal. For instance, for the volume up orvolume down command discussed above, the display 120 may increase ordecrease its volume level accordingly, which may be further relayed in amessage back to the playback device 100. Additionally or alternatively,the display 120 may execute commands based on the non-IR control messagereceived from the playback device 100. In some examples, the non-IRcontrol message may be relayed to another component connected to theentertainment system, and that connected component may execute commandsbased on the non-IR control message.

FIG. 11 shows another example message flow diagram illustratingexchanges between components of an entertainment system. For instance,at block 1102 the control device 130 may receive a control input that isa volume up input. For example, the volume up input may correspond to auser request to increase the volume of a movie that is being displayedon the display 120, where the corresponding audio for the movie is beingplayed by the playback device 100.

At block 1104, the control device 130 transmits an IR volume up signalthat is received by the playback device 100. As discussed above, thedisplay 120 may also receive the IR volume up signal transmitted atblock 1104. Skipping optional block 1106 for the moment, the playbackdevice 100 may retransmit the IR volume up signal at block 1008. Asnoted previously, this may include retransmitting the IR volume upsignal via the first and second emitters arranged as shown in the Figureand discussed above.

The display 120 receives the retransmitted IR volume up signal andexecutes a volume up command at block 1110 that corresponds to thevolume up signal. Because the playback device 100 is handling audiooutput for the movie, the display 120 may handle the execution of thevolume up command in various ways. For instance, the display 120 mayinclude its own internal speakers, yet these may be disabled in favor ofthe display 120. Although the display 120 is not outputting audiocontent, the display 120 may process the retransmitted IR volume upsignal and update a state variable that is stored in its memory, whichrepresents the current volume level of the display 120. The display 120may also provide a visual indication of the current volume level basedon the updated volume level state variable. Further, the display 120 maysend the volume up command along with the audio content to the playbackdevice 100 via a digital audio cable, for example. In yet anotherembodiment, the display 120 may adjust the volume level of the audiocontent, and then send volume adjusted audio content to the playbackdevice 100 for playback.

Returning to block 1106, in some implementations, the playback device100 may be equipped to recognize the IR volume up signal as representinga command that will eventually be routed back to the playback device100. In such cases, the playback device 100 may, at block 1106, executea volume up command corresponding to the IR volume up signal and adjustthe volume of the audio content that it is receiving form the display120. In this situation, the playback device 100 might not retransmit theIR volume up signal at block 1108.

Alternatively, the playback device 100 may execute the volume up commandat block 1106 and nonetheless continue with retransmitting the IR volumeup signal at block 1108, which may cause the execution of the volume upcommand at block 1110 by the display 120 and the transmission of thevolume up message at block 1112 back to the playback device 100.Moreover, the display 120 may execute the volume up command at block1110 and transmit the IR volume up message at block 1112 if the display120 received the IR volume up signal at block 1104. As discussed above,the display 120 may then provide a visual indication of the currentvolume level based on an updated volume level state variable accordingto the IR volume up signal. However, the playback device 100 may beconfigured to disregard the volume up command at block 1114 if thevolume up command was already executed at block 1106. Other examples arealso possible.

In another implementation shown in FIG. 11, the control device 130 mayreceive an input for controlling a computing device that is a componentof the entertainment system. For example, a DVR may be connected via anHDMI cable to the display 120, and the control device 130 may receive,at block 1116, a menu input corresponding to a user request to browse(e.g., scroll up, scroll down, make a selection, etc.) within a menu ofthe DVR. Accordingly, at block 1118, the control device 130 transmits anIR menu signal that is received by the second IR receiver 116 ofplayback device 100. As noted previously, the IR menu signal transmittedat block 1118 might also be received by the first IR receiver 106 ofplayback device 100, and might also be retransmitted by the first andsecond IR emitters 107 and 109. However, because the signal is coded fora different device, the IR menu signal may have no effect on the display120.

At block 1120, the playback device 100 may convert the IR menu signalinto a non-IR menu message. For example, the playback device may processthe IR menu signal and convert it into a digital CEC menu message. Atblock 1122, the playback device 100 may transmit the digital CEC menumessage to the display 120.

At block 1124, the display 120 may relay the digital CEC menu messagevia the HDMI cable to the DVR, and the DVR may execute the correspondingmenu command. In some other implementations, where the input received bythe control device 130 at block 1116 is intended for the display 120(e.g., an source change input corresponding to a user request to changethe source of the display 120), the display 120 may handle a converted,non-IR source change message as noted above. For instance, the playbackdevice 100 may execute a source change command at block 1124 thatcorresponds to the source change input, or the playback device 100 maydisregard the non-IR source change message if a retransmitted IR signalwas already received.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 may include one or more operations, functions, oractions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 1002-1016 and blocks1102-1124. Although the blocks are illustrated in sequential order, someof the blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a differentorder than those described herein. Also, the various blocks may becombined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/orremoved based upon the desired implementation.

In addition, for the message flow diagrams in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 andother processes and methods disclosed herein, the diagrams showfunctionality and operation of one possible implementation of presentembodiments. In this regard, each block may represent a module, asegment, or a portion of program code, which includes one or moreinstructions executable by one or more processors for implementinglogical functions or blocks in the process.

The program code may be stored on any type of computer readable medium,for example, such as a storage device including a disk or hard drive.The computer readable medium may include non-transitory computerreadable medium, for example, such as computer-readable media thatstores data for short periods of time like register memory, processorcache and Random Access Memory (RAM). The computer readable medium mayalso include non-transitory media, such as secondary or persistent longterm storage, like read only memory (ROM), optical or magnetic disks,compact-disc read only memory (CD-ROM), for example. The computerreadable media may also be any other volatile or non-volatile storagesystems. The computer readable medium may be considered a computerreadable storage medium, for example, or a tangible storage device. Inaddition, for the processes and methods disclosed herein, each block inFIG. 10 and FIG. 11 may represent circuitry and/or machinery that iswired or arranged to perform the specific functions in the process.

IV. CONCLUSION

The above discussions relating to playback devices, controller devices,displays, and other computing devices provide only some examples ofoperating environments within which the functions and methods describedmay be implemented. Other operating environments and configurations ofentertainment systems, playback devices, and other computing devices notexplicitly described herein may also be applicable and suitable forimplementation of the functions and methods.

The description above discloses, among other things, various examplesystems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture including,among other components, firmware and/or software executed on hardware.It is understood that such examples are merely illustrative and shouldnot be considered as limiting. For example, it is contemplated that anyor all of the firmware, hardware, and/or software aspects or componentscan be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusively in software,exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware, software,and/or firmware. Accordingly, the examples provided are not the onlyways) to implement such systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles ofmanufacture.

Additionally, references herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of aninvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, blocks, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforegoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible,non-transitory medium such as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on,storing the software and/or firmware.

I claim:
 1. A playback device comprising: a housing comprising a frontside, a back side, a first end, and a second end; an IR receiverpositioned on the front side of the housing; a first IR emitterpositioned on the back side of the housing and oriented such that afirst IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter is directed toward thesecond end of the housing; a second IR emitter positioned on the backside of the housing and oriented such that a second IR signal emittedfrom the second IR emitter a) is directed toward the first end of thehousing and b) crosses the first IR signal emitted from the first IRemitter; and wherein the first IR emitter and the second IR emitter areeach communicatively coupled to the IR receiver within the housing suchthat the first IR emitter and the second IR emitter are configured toretransmit an IR control signal received by the IR receiver.
 2. Theplayback device of claim 1, wherein the first IR emitter and the secondIR emitter each comprise a focused emitting direction, wherein the firstIR emitter is oriented such that the focused emitting direction of thefirst IR emitter is substantially parallel to the back side of thehousing, and wherein the second IR emitter is oriented such that thefocused emitting direction of the second IR emitter is substantiallyparallel to the back side of the housing.
 3. The playback device ofclaim 2, wherein the focused emitting direction of the first IR emittercomprises an angle of incline of five degrees or less from the back sideof the housing, and wherein the focused emitting direction of the secondIR emitter comprises an angle of incline of five degrees or less fromthe back side of the housing.
 4. The playback device of claim 3, whereinthe first IR emitter and the second IR emitter each comprise an emittingangle of 50 degrees or less.
 5. The playback device of claim 1, whereinthe back side of the housing comprises an indentation, and wherein thefirst IR emitter and the second IR emitter are positioned within theindentation.
 6. The playback device of claim 5, wherein the indentationis located at a midpoint between the first end and the second end of thehousing.
 7. The playback device of claim 5, wherein the indentationcomprises opposing first and second walls arranged perpendicular to theback side of the housing, wherein the first IR emitter is positioned inthe first wall of the indentation, and wherein the second IR emitter ispositioned in the second wall of the indentation.
 8. The playback deviceof claim 7, wherein a distance between the opposing first and secondwalls of the indentation is no greater than 15 centimeters.
 9. Theplayback device of claim 7, wherein the indentation is formed from anIR-transparent material.
 10. The playback device of claim 5, wherein theindentation comprises at least one port for connecting an externalcable, and wherein the back side of the housing is exclusive ofadditional ports.
 11. The playback device of claim 10, wherein the firstIR emitter, the second IR emitter, and the at least one port arenon-coplanar.
 12. The playback device of claim 1, wherein a distancebetween the first end and the second end of the housing is greater thanone meter.
 13. The playback device of claim 1, wherein the IR receiveris a first IR receiver, wherein the IR control signal is a first IRcontrol signal, and wherein the playback device further comprises: asecond IR receiver positioned on the front side of the housing; andprogramming for a) converting a second IR control signal received by thesecond IR receiver to a non-IR control message and b) transmitting thenon-IR control message to a computing device connected to the playbackdevice.
 14. A method of repeating an IR signal, the method comprising:receiving, via an IR receiver positioned on a front side of a housing ofa playback device, an IR control signal, wherein the housing furthercomprises a back side, a first end, and a second end; retransmitting theIR control signal via a first IR emitter communicatively coupled to theIR receiver within the housing, wherein the first IR emitter ispositioned on the back side of the housing and oriented such that afirst IR signal emitted from the first IR emitter is directed toward thesecond end of the housing; and retransmitting the IR control signal viaa second IR emitter communicatively coupled to the IR receiver withinthe housing, wherein the second IR emitter is positioned on the backside of the housing and oriented such that a second IR signal emittedfrom the second IR emitter a) is directed toward the first end of thehousing and b) crosses the first IR signal emitted from the first IRemitter.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first IR emitter andthe second IR emitter each comprise a focused emitting direction,wherein the first IR emitter is oriented such that retransmitting the IRcontrol signal via the first IR emitter comprises retransmitting the IRcontrol signal in a focused emitting direction that is substantiallyparallel to the back side of the housing, wherein the second IR emitteris oriented such that retransmitting the IR control signal via thesecond IR emitter comprises retransmitting the IR control signal in afocused emitting direction that is substantially parallel to the backside of the housing.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein retransmittingthe IR control signal comprises retransmitting the IR control signalfrom the first IR emitter in a focused emitting direction that comprisesan angle of incline of five degrees or less from the back side of thehousing, and retransmitting the IR control signal from the second IRemitter in a focused emitting direction that comprises an angle ofincline of five degrees or less from the back side of the housing. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein retransmitting the IR control signalcomprises retransmitting the IR control signal from each of the first IRemitter and the second IR emitter at an emitting angle of 50 degrees orless.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the back side of the housingcomprises an indentation, and wherein the first IR emitter and thesecond IR emitter are positioned within the indentation such thatretransmitting the IR control signal via the first IR emitter and thesecond IR emitter comprises retransmitting the IR control signal fromthe indentation.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the indentationcomprises opposing first and second walls arranged perpendicular to theback side of the housing, wherein the first IR emitter is positioned inthe first wall of the indentation such that retransmitting the IRcontrol signal via the first IR emitter comprises retransmitting the IRcontrol signal from the first wall of the indentation, and wherein thesecond IR emitter is positioned in the second wall of the indentationsuch that retransmitting the IR control signal via the second IR emittercomprises retransmitting the IR control signal from the second wall ofthe indentation.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the IR receiver isa first IR receiver, wherein the IR control signal is a first IR controlsignal, and wherein the playback device further comprises a second IRreceiver positioned on the front side of the housing, the method furthercomprising: converting a second IR control signal received by the secondIR receiver to a non-IR control message; and transmitting the non-IRcontrol message to a computing device connected to the playback device.